


A Long Time And A Hard Goodbye

by Anonymous



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Crying, Love Confessions, M/M, Season/Series 03, Sort Of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-21
Updated: 2019-08-21
Packaged: 2020-09-23 05:55:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20335183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Mike really loves Will... if only he had the bravery to tell him.





	A Long Time And A Hard Goodbye

“Please look at me,” Will uttered through heavy breaths. His heart was racing; pounding like a snare drum. It was loud in his ear, his pulse was unsteady and he felt he might faint.

Mike sighed, chewing on his lip in effort to stop him from crying. None of this should’ve ever happened in the first place. Will shouldn’t be leaving Hawkins. The Byers house had never looked so empty in all the years of countless sleep overs and watching Will draw and listen to the radio with the background noise of the birds outside he bedroom window.

Saying goodbye is never an easy thing… but no one ever said it could be that god damned difficult.

“Look at me,” Will spoke softly as Mike zoned back into the world he’d been tuned out of since he began moving boxes earlier that day.

He scratched the back of his neck briefly and glanced upward at Will. The two looked at each other for a long while as they stood out in the driveway of the empty residence. The Byers had already given their hugs and said their goodbyes. Mike struggled not to let go of everything and sob the second will leaned in to embrace him.

Will had been crying; His cheeks, flushed and covered with a few salty drips. He wiped them away. His frown turned into a smile as his hands dropped to his sides.

“I should probably get going… we’ve got a long drive if we want to get there by six.” Mike nodded, lips curving into a devastated smile at the sound of it. Will was really leaving and the Wheeler boy had still not said the words he meant to all those years ago.

His pulse speeded up as Will began to venture to the car. There was no way he was about to confess everything he’d ever had to say to the smaller boy right before he set off on his journey to a new life and a new house and new friends. Without him. Had he no shame?

“Wait—Will?” He asked. I… I uh-“

“Hmm?” Will questioned back.

_I’m in love with you and I want everyone to know about it. I’ve been in love with you since I first laid eyes on you. On the first day of kindergarten. I’ve been such an asshole and abandoned you for so long… there is so much I can apologize for but the one that I need to say sorry for most is that my brain isn’t working with my mouth. It won’t let me tell you these things. It won’t let me tell you that I’ve been looking all my life for someone who was right in front of me. It won’t let me tell you that I could stare at your face all day long and still miss you the second you leave. It won’t let me tell you that my heart breaks for every time I’ve seen you upset. And it shatters all over again when I see you in pain. That phone calls and letters won’t ever come close to actually being with you… and how they will never even begin to measure up. It won’t let me tell you that I’m most likely going to curl up in my room for a few days to grieve your loss… your moving on. I can’t tell you that a hole will be burned into my soul, my life the moment I watch the moving truck pull out of the driveway. That it will patch itself when I see you for the holidays. But it will reappear and keep reappearing until you’re back in my life for good._

_ Until I can admit to you… and myself—that I will never love anyone or anything else as much as I love you, Will Byers._

“Take care of yourself for me. El too.” He grinned

“I’ll do my best. When I come back you better run this town,” Will beamed back, laughing slightly. He opened the car door, plopping down in the back seat and waving mike goodbye.

And that’s when the world came crashing down. The second the rubber tires of the moving truck crunched against the gravel of the driveway. He could do nothing but look forward.

That afternoon began with Mike, mounted on his bicycle—his heart, shattering, fragmenting into countless pieces as he realized the love of his life was going to be far away from him… for a long time.


End file.
